Movie Traditions
So this time of year most people’s once a year movie traditions might include It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. Not the Ayers family. Growing up homeschooled, not having snow days and taking other public school holidays like Martin Luther King, Jr. day, meant we took about three weeks at Christmas to go shopping during the week, bake, and all the other holiday chores. During my college days I also had almost a month off. Which meant time to pull out the family favorite movies for winter evenings home or long hours of wrapping (one of my favorite Christmas pastimes).
So the last couple nights I’ve been making a shadowbox for my dad (he doesn’t read this blog) which means tediously stitching various medals into a fabric covered board. To combat the drudgery of this project, I put on one of my favorite holiday DVDs, Pride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice – So how did this movie get on the holiday fave list? Mainly because the holidays are the only time I might have six hours to watch this delightful battle of words and wit between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.
Anne of Green Gables – Another long movie us Ayers girls love. There’s that great Christmas scene when Matthew gives Anne her dress with puffed sleeves. My mom still gets teary eyed, no matter how many times we watch it!
Little Women – “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.” opens the first chapter of Little Women, which also is a favorite Christmas fictional read. The movie too is full of Christmas related tear-jerking scenes: The March girls giving away their long-anticipated Christmas breakfast, Beth receiving her piano, and their father coming back.
Meet Me in St. Louis – A great old movie about four sisters living in turn of the century St. Louis with their family. It has a famous Christmas scene with Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to Margaret O’Brian.
What are your favorite family Christmas movies?
Dancing by the Light 
I haven’t seen “Meet Me in St. Louie” but can’t agree with you more on the other three. However, my all time favorite is “Sense and Sensibilty.”
I think for us it was always “It’s a Wonderful Life”, now we watch “A Christmas Story” with Ralphie and the Red Rider BB gun. Do you remember watching The Wizard of OZ every Easter?
“Meet Me in St. Louis” is one of my absolute FAVORITE movies. I cry and laugh and cry and laugh and sing… oh I love it!
The Schaub movie list includes…”The Christmas Story” (aka..You’ll shoot your eye out movie) and National Lampoon’s Christmas Adventure. Normally this involves my mother’s loud sighings over our crude humor, followed by my dad attempting to console my mother yet coming back downstairs with us kids when my mom’s not watching.
“Christmas Story” takes top billing here. Paul’s favorite parts are (1) when Ralphie gets all snow-suied up and then has to go to the bathroom and (2) the scene at the Chinese restaurant (do you wnat “flied lice”?) at the family dog has eaten the Christmas turkey.
That movie led to a three-year battle for a BB gun in the Zubrowski home. I lost. Thankfully, no one has shot their eye out. A couple squirrels have been scared up the north side of our trees, though. I’ve never made it all the way through “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I have seen the end, mind you, and various other parts, but never, NEVER the whole film. I’ve either fallen asleep or gotten distracted. Go figure. It’s on my “100 things to do before I die” list. Okay, 101 things.
I love “National Lampoon’s Christmas Adventure” but sadly have never seen “Christmas Story.” I’ve seen bits and pieces, but not much. We’ll have to rent it this season because everyone always talks about it. Karen, I remember around Easter they’d always have on “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Sound of Music” for some reason. Not sure why they’re Easter-related, but oh well.
Top picks here are “Meet Me in St. Louis” (we just watched that last night), “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Little Women”, and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”
Danielle, don’t rent it. Just watch for the Christmas Story marathon this week on TV. It’s perennial.
I got my husband “The Christmas Story” for Christmas. We watched it a couple of days ago. It’s just too funny!